Memories flood back for Hobbit film crew

Director Peter Jackson is will release the first prequel to the Lord of the Rings trilogy in December this year.

Jason Redmond: Reuters

Filming The Hobbit has seemed like a family get together of sorts for director Peter Jackson and at least one of his Lord of the Rings stars, Elijah Wood.

"I'm enjoying it much more than I ever thought I would and it literally does feel like a family reunion, which is a nice way to go to work each day," Jackson said on the red carpet at the Sundance film festival, where he is promoting his documentary film, West of Memphis.

Wood, also at Sundance but for a separate film in which he stars, Celeste and Jesse Forever, says the Hobbit shoot was "pretty extraordinary".

"It was very surreal," Wood said.

"It kind of felt like no time had passed and suddenly we were back working again. It kind of felt like stepping back into time, family reunion. It was so great."

The Hobbit, based on J.R.R. Tolkien's fantasy novel, is a two-part prequel to Jackson's Lord of the Rings trilogy, which saw Wood in the starring role as Frodo Baggins.

The movies are among the biggest blockbusters ever and the final film, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, won 11 Oscars including best film and best director for Jackson.

Moviegoers will see many of the same faces reprising their characters from the trilogy, including Wood, Ian McKellen as Gandalf, Andy Serkis as Gollum, Orlando Bloom as Legolas and Cate Blanchett as Galadriel.

Wood says his part is "really small" and joked that when he finished shooting his scenes, he wished did not have to leave.

"I was telling Andy Serkis, who's [also] directing second unit, that I wanted to stow away on [his] unit and keep working," he said.

Newcomers to the Hobbit cast include Martin Freeman as Bilbo Baggins and Richard Armitage as Thorin Oakenshield.

Luke Evans, Evangeline Lilly and Lee Pace also are among the cast.

The story follows Bilbo on an epic quest with 13 dwarves and the warrior Thorin to reclaim the Dwarf Kingdom of Erebor.

Part one, An Unexpected Journey, is scheduled for a December 2012 release while part two, There and Back Again, will land in movie theatres one year later.